Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-02-25
Improved Methods of Warming
Cars.


The Western Railway club, which in
cludes representatives of the principal
lines of railroad in the West met the
other day, at Chicago, to discuss the sub
ject of car heatinga THE stoves will
have to 90, said President William Scott
mot only because they are menace to
public safety, but because public opinion
has condemned them" This seemed to
voice the opinion of the Western railroad
men present.
In New York last week the Master Car
Builders club gave a hearing to various
inventors of improved methods. Among
those who described their plans were the
following
Mr.. Martin, the inventor of the Martin
"anti-fire system of car heating" said his
method was pipe one, running through
the whole train. The steam for heating
the cars was to he taken directly from the
locomotives boiler and sent back through
connecting pipes and tubing. A trap
was arranged for under each car,
through which the steam that con
densed escaped automatically. TO heat
one car for one hour used up only two eX-
ira pounds of coal and an engine could
draw train of ten cars any distance,
heating them witlrthe loss of but one per
cent of motive power. On the Baltimore
and Ohio railroad where the Martin sys-
TEN had been tried the engineers, Mr..
Martin said, could not notice the differ
ence when the steam for the cars was on
He.also read letter from Master Mechanic
Tourif1 OF the Cleveland, Columbus, Gin
cinnati and indianapolis railroad, in which
that official stated the steam pipe system
had been found to be both safe and econ
omical. 1t had cost $42 ~ Il year for each
car heated by the old method of stoves.
| n
scarcely appreciable and the company put
no value on that; Steamboat was safe,
agreeable and cheap. For stationary or
detached cars Mr.. Martin recommended
boilers in all the big stations.
The plan of the next inventor, James
Emerson, has been tried for five years on
the Connecticut River railroad, from
| Springfield to Greenfield, a run of 3G
miles with fair success. 1t is steam pipe
one, the pipes drawing directly from the
locomotives boiler. An auxiliary boiler
is put under each car, however, heated by
Il small stove, for use when the car is de
tached or the engine breaks down. With
| this small auxiliary boiler alone cars have
been run from Springfield to White River
Junction and kept well heated all the
| time. Mr.. Emerson had never tried heat
ing from the locomotive, with trains of
more than four cars He thought that the
great saving from his system was III space.
Eight seats were saved in each car by tax
ing out the stoves, or one whole car in
seven or eight.
Inventor Gold, whose system is now in
use on the elevated roads, described it
briefly. 1t is simply the storing of heat in
salt water, Shut up in two cylinders, the
heat charged in two minutes from the
engine lasting for two hours. With
larger cylinders it would last for three or
four hours without renewal
nree Other contrlvances were SHOWN,
the first patent fuel of coal and cork
chiefly, burning, but not able to ignite
other lntlammable material.
At the last meeting of the New England
Railroad club, held in Boston on the 9th
instant, several methods of heating were
examined and described. The weight of
opinion was evidently in favor of steam
heating, and none of the experienced rail
road men present seem to have thought of
starting the objection now so familiar TO
the public through its frequent statement,
about the Gripping of the engine by TAX
ing steam from it. The New York T'rib-
uHe says This objection would never be
: used by railroad men unless with "intent
to deceive" for they are perfectly well
aware that it has no foundation in fact.
The engine does not the loss of the steam
J used to heat even train of sixteen or
} seventeen cars. The heating can be done
with the waste steam. When, too, the other
bugbearS are examined their significance
promptly appears. Thus it has been
SHOWN by experts that no real difficulty
need be experienced in keeping cars warm
that heating systems now in use will keep
them comfortable during four or five
hours at time after they have been de
, tached from the engine and this is a good
deal more than the most eXigent superin-
, tendents have declared necessary The sup
! ply of steam from the engine is the most
natural, direct, easy and safe method, and
also, which is important, the least eXpen-
, SlVe. Special cars to contain appara
! tus for heating and lighting are easier
; talked about than built and operated.
, The locomotive service plan has the ad-
vantage of demanding very little new
machinery, What the public need is
prompt protection on the rail, and this in
, wolves the elimination of the stove and
the kerosene lamp. Steam can be ap-
NH l1,, Loo 4 4